He told me to 'settle,
girl.'
He asked if 'something was wrong with me?'
He said I was an ‘easy target.’
That was within minutes when I first met Caden Banks.
I labeled him an *sshole, but he was more than that. Arrogant. Smug. Alpha.

He was also to-die-for gorgeous, and my stepbrother’s fraternity brother.

Okay, yes I was a little naive, a tad bit socially awkward, and the smallest
amount of stalker-ish, but if Caden Banks thought he could tell me what to do,
he had another thing coming.

I came to college with daydreams about being with my stepbrother, but what
would happen if I fell for the anti-stepbrother instead?

Excerpt

He wasn’t looking at me any more. I wasn’t even sure he was
really in the room.

I needed to leave this alone. He had given me the clues—looking
away, his jaw clenching, pain like I’d never heard from him sounding loud and
clear. My instincts were telling me to shut up, but I couldn’t. I had this
burning need to know more about Caden. I needed to get in there, past his
walls, and I wanted to understand him.

I wanted to help him.

Caden was hurting, and I wanted to take that away.

“What happened?”

Caden turned his gaze to me now, and I felt branded by the pain
I saw. His eyes were stricken. “Does it matter?”

“No.” My breath caught and held in my chest. I wanted to go to
him, but I also wanted to slink away. I was stirring up his pain, but I had to
know. “What happened, Caden?”

“Why do you have to know?”

“Because it’s hurting you.”

I made a decision, though I had no idea what the ramifications
were going to be. I stood, my legs going numb and my stomach clenching, and I
moved to his side. He leaned back, his head falling to the couch, and he
watched me.

The need to ease some of his hurt outweighed the fear of what
would happen next. Swallowing tightly, I stepped over to straddle him and sat
down.

“What are you doing?”

He asked that softly, still holding his beer. I took it from his
hands and put it on the stand next to the couch. Then I just sat there. He had
to do the rest. I’d already made the first move.

I glanced down at his hands, feeling like an idiot. “What
happened?”

“Why are you pushing this?”

I looked back up to find confusion warring with need in his
eyes. He wasn’t pushing me away, so I sank further into his lap.

“You haven’t told anyone else about this.” It wasn’t really a
question, but I saw the confirmation in his eyes. My chest tightened, thinking
about whatever secret he held. “Please tell me.”

“No.” He shifted forward, and I braced myself, expecting him to
push me away. He didn’t. His hands grasped the backs of my legs and lifted me
so I was more fully on his lap.

I could feel him between my legs, and my breasts almost pressed
against his chest. I waited. I wanted to see what else he’d say

“But not because I don’t want you to know,” he added. “Because
it’s not my secret to tell.”

In that moment, the truth exploded in me. I wanted him. I wanted
this—but it was more. I needed this.

I didn’t answer.

I closed the distance between us.

Author Information

I didn't begin writing until after undergraduate college.
There'd been storylines and characters in my head all my life, but it came to a
boiling point one day and I HAD to get them out of me. So the computer was
booted up and I FINALLY felt it click. Writing is what I needed to do. After
that, I had to teach myself how to write. I can't blame my teachers for not
teaching me all those years in school. It was my fault. I was one of the
students that was wishing I was anywhere but at school! So after that day, it
took me lots of work until I was able to put together something that resembled
a novel. I'm hoping I got it right since someone must be reading this profile!
And I hope you keep enjoying my future stories.